Chapter four
Understanding
We sat in silence, Renesmee playing with Bella's hair as Edward drove the car. I was the one who broke the silence, too scared to keep my thoughts to myself.
"So what if you are actually here to help, what are you going to do about it?" I asked, terrified at my own daring to ask this question. It sounded silly, actually. I knew the answer, as I had worked it out before. Edwards face was unreadable as he answered me, and Bella was staring ahead, calmly, like she was focused on something beyond us, something far away, and something that we could not see. It distracted me for a fraction of a second, and I turned back to Edward.
"We have a good idea who is doing this. We need more help. And you need our help, so you can return the favour." He had a hint of humour in his voice, so I wanted to shut him up. I knew that was the answer I was expecting, but the way he said it so casually, like it was their honour to let us help them, I was backed with more fury.
You have no idea how much it hurts to be me. Go crawl back where you came from. I'm sure you, your wife, your immortal child will love killing me as soon as you get the chance.
I spoke to him darkly in his head, it was sure to surprise him. I waited as he heard it, but he didn't react. His lips were pressed in a tight line and he spoke again, much softer than before. I frowned. His persuasion wasn't working on me, so why didn't he just give up? He could read my mind, to my annoyance. I could do nothing about it.
"Like I said before, we don't want to kill you. We want to help you. Don't harm my wife, please. You will regret it." He seemed to know how I worked. I growled.
"Oh, she doesn't like it? See how she likes getting kidnapped by a bunch of vampires that are going to kill her!" I said, growling furiously.
"We aren't going to kill you, please understand!" He said, pleading now.
"I HOPE SHE DIES, JUST SO I CAN SEE YOUR MISERABLE FACE WHEN SHE DOES!" I screamed, throwing the car door open. Bella flinched, and Edward growled in anger. The car stopped abruptly, And Edward ran out of the car, holding my arms behind my back before I got a chance to run.
"What did you say?" He growled. I knew this was it – time to die.
"I said that I would love to see your miserable face if your wife dies." I said, not a hint of fear in my voice. Good. Courage was good. His grip on my arms got tighter.
"Don't say that. Don't ever say that, or I will kill you." He whispered darkly, and then he let me go. I ran as soon as I was let go, but Bella ran with me.
"Don't leave us. Edward has a very quick temper. I know you didn't mean it. Please, let us help you." She told me, pleading.
"You're asking me to go with you, nine strange vampires I'm sure that want to kill Will and I, on the loose with an immortal child?!" I yelled. She flinched at the last part.
"She isn't immortal. She is a half-born. I conceived her while I was human." She said, pained.
"That doesn't mean anything to me- Nothing at all." I said, stopping suddenly.
"I know. Please let us help you. No one will hurt you, I will protect you." She said, sounding very confident.
"You can protect me from them?" I snorted.
"Want me to prove it to you?" She grinned, arching one of her eyebrows.
"Sure, I'll say I told you so when I die." I hissed, defeated. She laughed softly.
"I won't let them harm a hair on your or William's head." She promised me faithfully. She took my hand and we ran back to the car where Edward was cradling Renesmee (the half-born now, apparently) in his arms. He looked up at Bella, as if he was asking her a question, but didn't ask anything. She shook her head. He relaxed, and hugged Bella. He kissed her forehead and then turned to me.
"I'm sorry, Anne." He said. Bella nodded at him, and climbed in the back seats of the car with me. She kept up a casual conversation while gaining information from me.
"So how long have you known Will?" she asked, looking at me for signs on my face.
"For over twenty years. He's my best friend's husband." I said in a dead tone. I had given up. I didn't care what they did to me now.
"Oh? Where is your best friend?" She asked politely. I flinched, and suddenly I was being comforted by her, her hands rubbing my back.
"I'm sorry. We need to know as much as we can. I know it hurts you, but there is only one other way..." She trailed off.
"What?" I thought suddenly, though my voice sounded weak.
"You can get Edward to read it from you." She suggested, looking at him through the mirror. He pursed his lips, and then nodded.
"No! I can do better than that." I insisted, breaking Bella's embrace.
"What?" She said, puzzled.
"I can give my mind to you." I said. "I did it earlier, you know, when you tried to kill me." I whispered.
"I wasn't going to kill you. And I didn't know you yelled through your mind. I thought everyone heard it, then realised no one else was cringing. I thought you screamed so loud it was a weapon." She said, confused.
"I thought you understood, love. When I read her mind, she added to it. It's a gift in some ways, but..." Edward frowned. "It is a weapon." He said quietly.
"It won't hurt so much if I think it. I think about it a lot. I get used to the pain." Bella looked sympathetic as I said this, and I gave her a brief part of the story.
It started twenty four years ago-
"Bella, it might help if you stop defending yourself from my weapon." I said sarcastically.
"Oh yes, sorry." She said, smiling apologetically. I started again.
Twenty four years ago, I was just like you and Edward. Except that it was Anne and Oscar. We were like this. I crossed my fingers together to show what I meant. And one day he told me he was leaving. He wanted to find the people he was with when he was created; he called them his brothers and sisters. He said I couldn't come, because they would reject me. I was broken. It took me years to become in control of the pain, the emptiness. I glanced at her, and she looked agonised. Edward looked like he was in pain, too. I panicked. Was some unseen force attacking them? When I stopped, they both relaxed after a while. How strange. I tilted my head to one side, eyebrows knitting together. What had happened there? I didn't raise my voice, and I was very much in control of that.
"We are so terribly sorry. It touched a sensitive part in our past." He said politely. "Please do go on." They waited for the rest.
Skipping the rest; twenty four years ahead, Vivian (my best friend through absolutely everything) goes missing, too. Saying the exact same, and leaving behind her the same mess. Will was torn, too, and we have some understanding that it wasn't necessarily them that was leaving; they were possessed by something bad. I've left my clan of six including me to get them both back. I won't return until I have them both safe. You can help me with that, right?
Then it was my turn to wait. They both thought it over, obviously deep in thought. Will was oblivious to it all, in his own world. He had hardly noticed when the car had stopped; when I had screamed, when Edward had growled. He was in a trance; A trance of numbness, pain, and emptiness. I felt so bad. I didn't want him to leave Dallas. He was safe there, safer than here. I could deal with this alone. He wasn't actually helping at all – just using up another part of my mind with worry.
"We will do what we can. We're here." Edward murmured. Bella looked up, and relaxed. She must have a lot of faith here.
All I could say to put words into this place was "Wow" But it was much more than that. The house was magnificent, light and breathable. The weather was dark and wet, so we didn't have to hide. Will snapped out of his trance for a moment, too; his face was still agonised, but he relaxed a little. We both cautiously stepped out of the car while Edward and Bella went to meet the rest of their clan. They exchanged hugs, and Bella passed Renesmee to Rosalie, who was stunning. I had been too locked in fury and fear to realise. Her golden shiny hair fanned out behind her, following her. I stared after her while she walked into the house.
"This is the right thing to do, right?"Will asked – he was still a little dazed.
"Right," I agreed, nodding simply.
"William, Anne, this is our home." Carlisle said, gesturing towards the palace. Yes, it wasn't a home; it was a palace. Edward chuckled.
Oh, I got it. He could read my mind. I remembered Renesmee showing me that. I didn't even have to force my mind into his. He could read it perfectly; such a shame. I couldn't surprise him when I wanted to. I pouted. Edward laughed. Bella shot him a confused look, but he told her with his eyes. She grinned.
Secret eye-language... What the hell? I was going officially crazy. They both laughed outright at that, though I didn't think of it as particularly funny. They confused me, strangers that could talk through their eyes. I felt fury for them mocking me. Esme was the one to ease my anger.
"Come inside, dear. It's unnecessary to be out here." She smiled at me, taking me by the hand and leading me inside. It was all so strange; this warm, comforting palace with crazy people living inside, crazy couples living inside.
Well, the inside was something else... really something else. It was amazing. It was very light, and it was huge. The whole of the south of the palace was glass, which I was sure would be useful for guarding the place. Their land with the house was beautiful; undisturbed grass, with a huge field laid out on a flat surface. The whole of the west was filled with a staircase leading to the first floor, and it too was light. Everything was either white or cream, and every colour in-between. There was a small platform in the room for a grand piano. I gasped. I smelled something. Human blood; just like Renesmee's, and it burned my throat. I just realised my sudden thirst, and lurched forwards towards it. As I launched forwards, I sniffed something else, something disgusting, but not revolting, it just meant something more to drink. Six pairs of hands grabbed my waist, my arms, and my hands as I tried to reach that adorable smell and the bad one.
"Control yourself, please." Said Carlisle, and I tried to resist. I relaxed a bit, keeping my jaw clamped shut. Two pairs of hands let go. A tall, dangly man walked in, smiling hugely at Renesmee, who Rosalie now passed to Bella. I sniffed. The awful smell was him. Oh. He was the werewolf. I saw his expression falter as he saw me and Will; I was struggling against six pairs of hands holding me like chains, and Will was staring into space. I saw Alice hopping up the stairs while Jasper still held me; she was probably changing clothes as Renesmee had seen many times. Another sweep of calmness spread through me, but I knew better this time than to trust it. Renesmee had also pointed out their special "gifts" like mine. Edward could read minds, Bella could protect any offence to minds in her range, Jasper could control emotions, and Alice could see the future and Renesmee could give you her thoughts. She copied me, except she could give anything. I could only give words, with sound too. The human blood smell soon disappeared, and was replaced by a disgusting smell. I recoiled, wrinkling my nose. Edward chuckled again.
"There are werewolves – no, not Children of the Moon – around here most of the time. We have truces...sometimes." He heard my instinctual thoughts when he mentioned the words, and he was suddenly angry, tensed as he fought the urge to glare at Jacob.
"Um, Bella, err, want me to take Nessie?" He said gruffly, fidgeting. I saw her shake her head and she let me go. Edward still had his hands on my arms, his lips pulled back to try and achieve a fierce threatening look.
"What is it with you?! Laugh at my expense, sure!" I yelled, and lunged for him. I got punched back in the same second; I flew back out of the door and fell down the steps. As I was picking myself up off the floor, he picked me up instead and held my arms behind my back like before.
"Control yourself." He said, serious now.
"Why don't you?" I made an imitation of his growl, to prove my point.
"That was defence." He said simply. I glared at him.
"Sure it was." I shook him off, and sat in the corner of their living room. I glared at them all standing anxiously around me, concerned for me. I sent a message to them all;
Just back off. Leave me alone.
Slowly they got the message and went about their usual business, ignoring the girl in the corner glaring. Edward and Bella didn't leave me though, and that was a pain. Again and again I told them.
"Go away." I mumbled, not looking at either of them.
"Fine; Bella, let's go." He said, turning away. "I'm sure we can do something more interesting than this." He added, kissing her. Ugh, I couldn't stand this. She kissed him back, and then turned to me.
"I want to get to know you, Anne. I would love to be friends with you." She glanced at Edward as she said this, and his eyes dulled with disappointment. I was happy with this, so I agreed.
"Sure." I said, watching his hunger as he hugged her close. He restrained her, but she didn't resist. She seemed as weak as him. I rolled my eyes.
"No," He murmured, stroking her face. She got the message, and took several deep breaths to steady herself. I rolled my eyes again. I was enjoying this, seeing them struggle with control. I wasn't the only one, it seemed. I watched his eyes go from black to strange yellow again, and I stared in curiosity at them. Bella's eyes did the same.
"Why are your eyes like that?" I asked quietly.
"It seems we have a lot to learn about each other." Bella smiled.